SpaceX just cleared a major hurdle for bringing Starship to Cape Canaveral.
The Department of the Air Force has officially signed off on a plan that lets SpaceX redevelop Space Launch Complex 37 for Starship and Super Heavy operations.
Their Record of Decision lays out how the company can rebuild the pad, transport hardware, and eventually fly and land the massive booster and ship right here on the Space Coast.
The approval covers everything from construction work to vehicle processing to road upgrades. Phillips Parkway and Old A1A inside Cape Canaveral Space Force Station will be widened so Starship hardware can move between the Cape and Kennedy Space Center.
The Air Force says there is no practical alternative to building at SLC-37, but it requires a long list of safeguards. Environmental controls were the most prominent conditions, including dust control, flood and hurricane resilience, noise-reduction systems, wildlife protections, historic-site monitoring, stormwater controls, and plans for wetlands and habitat restoration.
SpaceX must also cover the costs of any permanent habitat loss and follow strict rules for species such as the southeastern beach mouse, the Florida scrub-jay, and the gopher tortoise.
Practical Effects
Residents can expect traffic controls during construction and high-profile launches, continued public notifications for loud events and sonic booms, and a dedicated process for handling damage claims. The document also outlines how SpaceX and the Space Force will coordinate with the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Cape Canaveral National Seashore, and nearby agencies to minimize disruptions.
With the decision signed on November 20, 2025, the path is now open for SpaceX to add Starship to Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy on the Eastern Range, marking another major expansion of launch activity on the Space Coast. The final lease agreement, pad construction and last but not least, Starship completing its development phase still remain, of course, so it will be a while before Starship launches here…but it won’t be a very long while.
The Department of the Air Force has issued a positive Final Environmental Impact Statement for SpaceX Starship at LC-37 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. This SpaceX rendering shows what the area could look like when complete. Credit: SpaceX
The proposal would turn the old Delta IV pad into a fully rebuilt launch site capable of hosting up to 76 Starship flights a year. Each mission would include a booster landing just minutes after liftoff and a Starship landing hours—or in some cases years—after launch. In short, the skies above the Space Coast are going to be very busy.
The review concludes that the project would bring no major environmental obstacles across most categories.
Still, two issues stand out: air quality and noise.
The EIS points to significant community annoyance from Starship’s noise and sonic booms, especially during nighttime launches. While the report says structural damage is unlikely, the sound levels will be noticeable across the Space Coast on launch days. SpaceX plans to use heavy sound-suppression systems and coordinate public notifications in advance. Sonic booms from returning boosters and Starship itself will be endemic, day or night.
Level at which sustained exposure may result in hearing loss
80-90
City Traffic
85
Many household appliances
80
Chamber music, in a small auditorium
75-85
Vacuum cleaner
75
Normal conversation
60-70
Business Office
60-65
Household refrigerator
55
Suburban area at night
40
Whisper
25
Quiet natural area with no wind
20
Threshold of hearing
0
Sustained Exposure Hearing Loss: the common benchmark for this threshold is an 8-hour time-weighted average exposure to 85 dBA on a repeated basis. The time exposure for a Starship launch will be measured in minutes.
During operations, the rocket’s emissions are expected to exceed federal insignificance thresholds for nitrogen oxides. The Air Force and SpaceX plan to use an adaptive management strategy, reviewing new data as operations ramp up.
Minimal Impacts Across Other Categories
The review found:
Environmental Impact Summary
Starship/Superheavy Environmental Impact Summary
Category
Assessment
Traffic
Increases during construction and launch days are manageable.
Local Wildlife
Southeastern beach mouse and Florida scrub-jay will be protected through relocation and habitat restoration plans.
Water Resources
Wetlands will see construction impacts, but all fall under federal permitting and mitigation requirements.
Historic Sites
Expected to remain unaffected, with ongoing monitoring for potential noise-related impacts.
Marine Areas
No long-term closures; only short safety zones during launches.
Overall, the report concludes that the project can proceed without causing significant long-term environmental harm, provided mitigation measures remain in place.
What Comes Next
The Air Force must still issue its Record of Decision, and the FAA will release its own determination before any Starship launches or landings take place at the site. Airspace-closure details are still being finalized, with additional FAA analysis expected. At the same time, this was one of the major hurdles the SpaceX project had to clear on its way to becoming a reality.
When approved, the redevelopment of SLC-37 would position Cape Canaveral as a major operational hub for Starship activity, supporting national security missions, commercial flights, and NASA needs. SpaceX’s Boca Chica facility will work in tandem with the SpaceX Eastern Range facility to support the giant spacecraft.
As a company, SpaceX moves quickly. Once approved, it is unlikely the company will delay construction at LC-37, and once started, the work will proceed rapidly until the facility is ready for its initial use. In Boca Chica, SpaceX has constructed Starship launch and landing facilities in months, as opposed to the multi-year efforts NASA has had with SLS. It is reasonable to expect much the same here in Florida.
Oddly, SLC-37 may not be the first Starship pad to enter service on the Space Coast. Given its construction lead, that distinction is likely to go to LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center. The FAA is still finalizing its Environmental Impact Study for that facility, but SpaceX has been steadily constructing its Starship launch pad on the KSC site.
NROL-70, the final Delta IV mission, launches from CCSFS on Tuesday, April 9, 2024. Photo: Mark Stone/FMN
On a bittersweet day in in the annals of spaceflight, the United Launch Alliance (ULA) said goodbye to one of its most powerful and storied rockets. With an ontime launch at 12:53 PM EDT on April 9, the Delta IV Heavy rocket soared into the skies for its final mission, carrying a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), designated NROL-70.
“It is a bittersweet moment for us. It is such an amazing piece of technology — 23 stories tall, half a million gallons of propellant, two and a quarter million pounds of thrust and the most metal of all rockets, setting itself on fire before it goes to space.”
Tory Bruno, chief executive officer of United Launch Alliance – March 26th
The Delta IV Heavy, known for its immense power and capability, has been a cornerstone in the United States’ space launch capabilities for over two decades. Its final launch was a bittersweet moment, symbolizing both the culmination of its storied career and the dawn of a new era in launch technology led by ULA’s next-generation Vulcan rocket, which successfully completed its inaugural mission earlier this year.
Delta Family of Rockets Also Retiring
The Delta family of rockets also came to an end after over sixty years of service. In service from 1960 to 2024, the versatile range of American rocket-powered expendable launch systems that provided space launch capability for the United States, and it launched many memorable missions including early communications satellites like Echo 1A, TIROS-2 and TIROS-3 weather satellites in the 1960s, NASA’s rovers Spirit and Opportunity, the Phoenix Mars Lander, all operational GPS missions through the constellation of 21 GPS II-R missions for the Air Force, and commercial missions for Iridium, Globalstar and three DigitalGlobe satellites. Japan also launched license-built derivatives (N-I, N-II, and H-I) from 1975 to 1992.
ULA’s Future is With Vulcan, Its New Rocket
Regarding the move to Vulcan boosters for future launches, ULA CEO Tory Bruno said “This is a great mission to think about that transition, because national security space missions is our core and the unique set of missions there require a high-energy launch vehicle. We designed Vulcan specifically for that.”
The rocket’s second stage, powered by an Aerojet Rocketdyne RL10 engine, was instrumental in the precise delivery of payloads into their designated orbits. The RL10’s precision and versatility were crucial in meeting the demanding requirements of National Security Space Launch (NSSL) missions.
NROL-70, the final Delta IV mission, launches from CCSFS on Tuesday, April 9, 2024. Photo: Mark Stone/FMN
Reflections On Delta IV Heavy’s Legacy
Kristin Houston, the President of Space Propulsion and Power Systems at Aerojet Rocketdyne, reflected on the Delta IV Heavy’s legacy, stating, “The Delta IV has been reliably delivering our nation’s most important payloads to the most challenging orbits for more than two decades.”
Houston expressed a mix of farewell to the iconic launch vehicle and anticipation for the future, affirming, “While we bid farewell to this impressive launch vehicle that has made such significant contributions to the scientific and national security goals of the United States, L3Harris looks forward to providing propulsion and avionics systems to support ULA’s Vulcan rocket for many years to come.”
Jim Maus, general manager of Defense and Commercial Space Launch Systems at Aerojet Rocketdyne, lauded the Delta IV Heavy’s flawless performance record, stating, “For nearly 20 years, our reliable propulsion systems have helped the Delta IV rocket achieve an outstanding record of 100% mission success.” He highlighted the diversity of missions the Delta IV Heavy supported, ranging from classified military satellites to spacecraft destined to unravel the mysteries of our solar system.
Central to the Delta IV Heavy’s success were its three Common Booster Cores, each powered by an RS-68A engine developed by Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company. The RS-68A, heralded as the most powerful hydrogen-fueled rocket engine ever flown, was a key contributor to the rocket’s impressive track record. The engines, alongside a suite of sophisticated avionics provided by L3 Harris, enabled the Delta IV Heavy to deliver payloads to a variety of orbits, generating over two million pounds of thrust to breach the Earth’s atmosphere.
As the Delta IV Heavy embarks on its retirement, its legacy is cemented. Having successfully completed 45 Delta IV missions, including 16 aboard the Delta IV Heavy configuration, the rocket leaves behind a legacy of innovation, reliability, and contribution to both scientific exploration and national security. As the commercial spaceflight industry looks to the future with the ULA’s Vulcan rocket, the Delta IV Heavy’s pioneering spirit and contributions will not be forgotten.
The incomplete Starship Launch Tower pad 39A at KSC stands to the right SpaceX’s Falcon 9 / Falcon Heavy launch tower. Photo: Mark Stone/FMN
In a recent Department of the Air Force announcement, the Air Force said an Environmental Impact Study isunder way for potential new launch facility at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station or Kennedy Space Center.
The proposed facility would be aimed at providing an Eastern Range launch pad for SpaceX’s Starship, the largest, most powerful rocket ever built. By comparison, Starship has over 16 million pounds of thrust, compared to NASA’s new Space Launch System, which has half of that.
What Is An Environmental Impact Study?
In the United States at the federal level, an EIS is a report mandated by the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), to assess the potential impact of actions “significantly affecting the quality of the human environment.” This requirement under NEPA does not prohibit harm to the environment, but rather requires advanced identification and disclosure of harm.
The first Draft of the Cape Canaveral EIS is scheduled to be released in December of this year.
Debate Starts To Heat Up
While both the future of commercial spaceflight and NASA’s plans for the moon and beyond demand such heavy lift capabilities, an expected debate has started to emerge from environmental groups as well as some local residents, who are gearing up to express opposition to the potential new facility proposed at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. At the same time, others support the possible move fully and are embracing the idea.
The new Starship has already flown twice from SpaceX’s Starbase development facility in South Texas, with both test flights ending in a “RUD”, or rapid unscheduled disassembly – catastrophic vehicle failure. (RUD is space lingo for “it blew up.”)
It is likely SpaceX will face the similar battles with environmentalists and some locals in Florida that they already face in Texas, even if the situations are somewhat different.
The Lay of the Land In Boca Chica
Space X’s Starship stands on the pad in Boca Chica, TX. prior to it’s second flight test. Photo: Richard Gallagher/FMN
A few years ago, SpaceX had begun construction of a Starship launch tower near Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A, but that work has apparently been stopped in favor of a Starship facility near Boca Chica, Texas, where Starship being developed and test flights conducted.
Since then, SpaceX has proceeded with extensive construction of what it calls Starbase, with two highly-publicized Starship launches during 2023.
In the interim some environmental groups loudly complained about the Texas facility, its proximity to federally protected wetlands as well as dust created by the first launch, and noise from both.
In a move to apparently remedy the standoff over, SpaceX offered a lopsided land swap to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD). As reported by ABC 13 News from Houston, SpaceX offered to turn over 477 acres near the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge in exchange for only 43 acres from the Boca Chica State Park (near Starbase).
The Parks and Wildlife staff appeared ready to take the deal: “[We] view it as a way for the agency to increase public access and protect grasslands and wetlands … these conversations continue more than a decade of cooperative work with SpaceX to carry out our respective missions as neighbors,” the TPWD statement said. A vote was set for January 25, 2024.
But several days before the vote, the Parks and Wildlife staff sought public comment. Over 1,039 comments were against the land exchange compared to 263 for it. The TPWD also received a letter from influential Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevino Jr against the project. The Parks and Wildlife then hastily postponed the vote until its March 28 meeting.
Texas Public Radio reported:
Save RGV (Save Rio Grand Valley) a nonprofit group advocating against the development of liquified natural gas plants and SpaceX in the Rio Grande Valley, worries how [a] land exchange could impact sensitive wildlife areas in the future.
“The proposed exchange will further environmental impacts, including more light, noise, run-off, pollution, and traffic,” Mary Angela Branch, Save RGV member, said in a public comment to the TPWD commission. “This exchange would set a bad precedent for trading away unique sensitive habitat and public land.”
“Another question posed by Save RGV is whether TPWD possibly blocked a land purchase by Cameron County, where both parcels of land are located. One commissioner has pushed back at the exchange deal, saying the county had plans to use the land for its own conservation project.”
In December, Jeff Foust at SpaceNews reported that Texas’s congressional representatives were getting involved:
Cruz argued that the environmental reviews resulted in “asinine delays” even as the United States competes with China and Russia in spaceflight. “I’m not advocating for a wholesale repeal of our environmental laws or NEPA. I’m just arguing for them not to be applied in a dumbass way that slows down commercial space.”
The second Starship launch was “after months of delay stemming from bureaucratic red tape from AST, Fish and Wildlife and other agencies injecting themselves into the process,” said Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee, at a Dec. 13 hearing by that committee’s space subcommittee. AST is the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation.
As both proposed launch pads are on Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, no land exchanges will be needed for Florida. Until a recent deal with the State of Texas, Starbase existed on an approximately 55-acres of land, whereas CCSFS is1,325 acres, and that before the adjacent Kennedy Space Center is considered – that site has 6,000 acres of land for facilities and roads, and has 7.8 million square feet of building area, and 564 miles of roads, including 184 miles of paved and 380 miles of unpaved roads.
It should be noted that the Boca Chica Starbase is located within about 5 miles of populated Port Isabel. In contrast, the CCSFS Launch Complex 37 is about 15 miles from Titusville and 8 miles from Cape Canaveral. Both are well out of the designated Blast Debris Area that is recognized for launches: the Saturn V in the 1960’s and 1970’s and also the recent Artemis I launch of SLS had BDAs of 3.5-4.0 miles from the launch site.
The Debate Begins in Florida
With the third test flight of Starship expected for next month in Texas, attention is shifting to SpaceX’s plans for Florida’s launch facility, and the recent announcement from the DAF of an EIS for a launch pad at CCSFS. The Department of the Air Force, which controls the bulk of the Cape Canaveral peninsula via the US Space Force, has made it clear they are in need of Starship’s heavy lift capability.
At a recent Space Mobility Conference, Gary Henry, senior advisor for national security space solutions at SpaceX, said that Starship holds the potential to become a mobility platform for the U.S. military. “The cost element of this is going to be pretty compelling, and it’ll happen soon,” Henry said. The military also intends to use the massive Starship as an inflight refueling and logistics depot, supporting Space Force missions.
Additionally, NASA’s plans for the moon and beyond hinge on Starship as part of the Artemis program, with plans for a crewed moon landing within this decade.
Such ambitious plans would require a fairly rapid cadence in Starship launches. A NASA official said last year that the use of Starship for Artemis lunar landings will require “in the high teens” of launches both from Texas and Cape Canaveral.
Locals and environmental groups are already voicing their concerns on social media, encouraging residents to research the environmental and community issues and then attend one of the upcoming public comment forums in the area.
Local Concerns Expressed on Social Media
In a Facebook group called “Fight For Zero Brevard”, one resident posted:
“PLEASE go do your research concerning the massive change in attitude by all the people who live near Boca Chica and the huge impact Starship has had to their environment and wildlife….there was such pushback by Boca Chica residents during their time to write in public comments that a much more “rigorous” environmental study was called for pushing SpaceX’s time frame out and there has been a lawsuit filed by numerous groups concerning the environmental impact hence part of the reason for SpaceX’s shift to now focusing on Cape Canaveral.“
In another group, a poster said: “There is no question that a keener eye needs to be placed on the negative effects of launches and space programs in general. Thanks for alerting us to this. The space center is a cool thing to have in our backyards, but not at the expense of human and environmental health.“
Still, others expressed concerns about the increased noise pollution of launches, the safety of residents in the event of a mishap, and the environmental effect of the fallout of heavy metals.
Not all residents shared those concerns, touting the positive effects of the space program. A Facebook poster wrote:
“We are, after all, the Space Coast right? The space program and its associated tourism drives Brevard County’s economy. We have all of the necessary capabilities and infrastructure, so it’s a natural.“
Another said that,
“The economic future of the area depends on Starship coming to the Space Coast. Anyone who remembers the cratering house prices and boarded up businesses after Apollo and the Shuttle should be supporting SpaceX bringing Starship here.“
As of yet, none of the Space Coast’s federal representatives (Congressman Bill Posey, Senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott) have weighed in on the potential of Starship flying out of Cape Canaveral or the ongoing Environmental Impact Study. Nor have any local officials, but to be fair, it has not been long since the EIS study was announced by the DAF, and their offices may also be evaluating the new documents.
Public Hearing Dates
March 5: 4-7 PM, Catherine Schweinsberg Rood Central Library, 308 Forrest Ave., Cocoa.
March 6: 4-7 PM, Titusville Civic Center, 4220 S. Hopkins Ave., Titusville.
March 7: 4-7 PM Radisson Resort at the Port, 8701 Astronaut Blvd., Cape Canaveral.
There is also an online meeting for those who cannot attend in person:
Talk of Titusville urges all interested parties to attend at least one of the meetings and to make their voice heard.
Draft Study Results Expected Late This Year
After making the study announcement and holding public hearings in March, the Environmental Impact Study will appear as a draft release of the report sometime in “winter” 2024. (As there is only one official winter month, that of December, it may be that the draft EIS is due that month.) That is not set in stone, however, so stay tuned for an announcement of specifically when that date may be.
This article was originally published on Florida Media Now, and is added here courtesy of FMN. Correspondents Jim Siegel, Charles Boyer, and Mark Stone contributed.
You must be logged in to post a comment.